Method of manufacturing torpedoes.



W. C. BECKWITH.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TORPEDOES. APPLICATION FILIED APR.9. m-s.

1 9 1 Q 1 Q Patented @ept. 21, 1915.

Fig. I. F1'g. Z.

IINVENTCDR rra era 1: rrn re.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TORPEDOES.Z

. Application filed April 9, 1915. Serial No. 20,3is.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WALTER C. BEoKwI'rrI, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Fostoria, in the countyof Seneca 5 and State of Ohio, have invented a certaln new and usefulImprovement'in the Method of Manufacturing Torpedoes; and I do herebydeclare the following to be. a full, clear, and exact description of thelnvent on,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part 1.5of this specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of railway torpedoes andparticularly to those of the fiber top type.

The object of my invention is not only to provide a simple and.eflicient means for closing the ends of the fiber tubes or shells v oftorpedoes of this-character to retain the explosiye therein, but also tocheapen, simplify and improve the method of manufacture of torpedoes ofthis character heretofore employed.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

3o Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ex plosive containing tubeorcase of a torpedo manufactured in accordance with my inven tion. Fig. 2is a perspective view of a tablet form of explosive used in the torpedo.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a plurality of the tubes or cases closed at oneend by stitching and connected together at such ends by a continuationof the stitching from one case to another, and illustrating the firststep .in 40 the assembling process embodying the invention. Fig. 4 isthe same as Fig. 3 except that one explosive tablet has beenplaced in acase and another one is partially placed within the next case in order,and illustrates the second or case filling ste of the rocess. Fig. 5 isa view similar to ig. '3 wit 'allof the tubes filled and closed at thefilling endthereof by stitching, which stitching is con tinued from oneto another of the caseslto connect the same,'and illustrates ,thethirdstep in the process. Fig. 6 shows a chain of filled and stitched casesin the act of bein submerged in a waterproofing solution, vanillustrates the fourth'stepv in the process, and Fig. 7 is aperspectiveview of a com- Specification of Letters Patent.

ends and filled in accordance with Referring to the drawings, 1designates stance, as shellac or paraffin,

it is-only necessary for the cases are separated Patented Sept. 21,1915.

pleted torpedo, the explosive containing tube or case of which has beenclosed at its my i nvention; I

a case or tube for containing the explosive, and 2 an explosive made upin tablet or plastic form. The case or tube 1 is of fibrous material,such for instance, as paper, and has its ends open to facilitate theinsertion of an explosive therein. The cases or tubes are customarilyniade'by rolling a sheet-0P paper in tube form on a mandrel of the de-'sired size, then cutting the tube into sections of a lengthcorresponding to the desired length of the cases. The short tubesections are then placed in a shaper, which flattens the ends of thesections andbulges the 'cen-; ters thereof in suitable form to receivethe explosive tablets 2, as shown by the cases in the drawing. p v

; The cases'having been made, one end of each is first closed bystitching across suchend, as indicated at 3, andsuch stitching iscontinued across the corresponding ends of v successive cases until adesired number of cases have been closed at one end and connectedtogether in chain form, as indicated in Fig. 3, thus completing thefirst step of I my invention. The next step in the operation consists inplacing an explosive. tablet 2 into each case of the chain through theopen end thereof, as indicated in Fig.4. When all of the cases in achain have been filled with explosive materialfor tablets in this mannerthe open ends thereof are closed by stitching across the same,'as'indicated at 4 in Fig. 5, such stitching being continued from one caseto'another until they have been connected at such ends in chain form thesame as by the stitching 3. The chain of filled cases is now dipped as aunit in a suitable waterproofing material, such for in which dipping isfacilitated by reason of the cases 100 beingponnected together in chainform, as I person dipping to take hold ofone end of the chain and loweriteintolthe dipping solution until each tube is; successively immersedin the solution, as illustrated by Fig.6, the, chain of tubes being thendrawn out of the dipping solution and hung up to dry. After the waterproofing solution on the caseshas dried the by cuttingv the stitchingi".

' may be used if desired; and also that the chain form, whereby thehandling of the ZLb polnts between the cases, after which the filledcases are ready to be attached to the holding clip. I,

In Fig. 7 a filled case is shown as being attached to a metal clip 5,the ends of which are provided with flanges or lugs 6 that are turnedoverthe respective ends of the case to securely hold it to the clip. 7designates a metal strap which is interposed centrally between the clipand case and is used to secure the torpedo to a rail, as is wellunderstood in the art.

It is evident that the stitching of the ends invention is not restrictedto the use of any particular form or construction of case or to anyparticular form or construction of clip or holding means for the case,but resides more particularly in the idea of closing the ends of thecases by stitching, which is continued from one case to another tosuccessively connect a series of the same in cases in connection withthe filling and waterproofing operations is facilitated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by L-etters Patent, is,*

1. The closing of an end of each of a plurality of railway torpedo casesby stitching across such end and continuing the stitch: ing from onecase to another to connect the cases in chain form, then filling each ofthe connected cases through the open end thereof with an explosivecompound and then closing the open ends of thecases.

2. The closing of an end of each of a plurality of railway torpedo casesby stitching across such end and continuing the stitching from one caseto another to connect the cases in chain form, then filling each of theconnected cases through the open end thereof with an explosive compound,then closing the open ends of the cases and afterward dipping the chainof filled cases into a waterproofing solution.

3. The closing of' the end of each of a plurality of railway torpedocases by stitching across such end and continuing the stitching from onecase to another to con nect the cases in chain form, then filling thecases through the open ends thereof with an explosive material, and thenclosing the open ends of the cases by stitching.

4. The closing of the end of each of a plurality of railway torpedocases by stitching across such end and continuing the stitch from onecase to another to connect them in chain form, then filling the casesthrough the open ends thereof with an explosive compound, then closingthe open ends of the cases by stitching, and then dipping the chain offilled cases into a waterproofing solution.

5. The closing of the end of each of a plurality of railway torpedocases by stitching across such end and continuing the stitch from onecase to another to connect them in chain form, then filling the casesthrough the open ends thereof with an explosive compound, thenclosingthe open ends of the cases by stitching, then dipping the chainof filled cases into a Waterproofing solution, permitting them todry andthen severing the stitching connection between the cases preparatory tosecuring the cases to holding members.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to thisspecification.

' WALTER o. BECKWITH,

